Thursday, July 28, 2011

Boho Maxi Dress: a tutorial

This dress is an incredibly easy make. By now you may have realized that I'm all about the simple projects. I'm far from being a master seamstress, I just work with what I know and try to learn as I go.

I've never actually owned a maxi dress before, but now I might be hooked. They're so comfy and they have the added benefit of hiding my neglected, less-than-hairless legs.

I know that there are many of you out there who have a fear of sewing with knit. Don't be afraid! Knit happens to be one of my favorite materials. It's extremely comfortable, breezy, and light. It's also a very forgiving fabric, especially in a project like this where there is a lot of gather.

A couple of things to keep in mind when sewing with knit...

Let the material go at it's own pace when feeding through the machine

Use a zig zag stitch or a stretch stitch. This allows the seam to stretch unlike a straight stitch.

A walking foot and a ball point needle help avoid puckering. However I didn't use either of these. I just worked with what I had.

Because it was so huge, it was difficult to get a decent pic of this step...so I drew up this nice little chart instead.

Sew everywhere you see the white dashed line.

After your 3 seams, turn your fabric inside out. At this point, you basically have a giant pillowcase.

At the closed, short end of the dress (what will be the top of the dress), determine the middle point. Cut Straight down 6 inches. This gave me a nice, modest neckline. Go shorter or deeper if you like.

Cut out an 8" strip at both ends for the sleeves.

Now you'll have something like this:

reminds me of Cindy Lou Who

Plenty of length at the bottom even for my tall, 5' 9" self. Don't cut just yet! I made this mistake and had to sew a trim at the bottom to add length after I washed and dried it.

Now if you like the white, keep it as is and skip the next step.

Dye:

So I searched long and hard for coral fabric dye to no avail. Finally I came across RIT's color formula guideand realized duh, mix the colors to create your own perfect hue! I guess that's kind of obvious.

A little experimentation and I found the combination to achieve the perfect coral.

You'll need:

The pictures of the dress make it look a little darker than it really is. It's slightly lighter in person. Alter the recipe as you see fit. Less water will give you a darker hue and more water will give you a lighter hue.

Pour the concentrated dye solution into the pail with the other 4 gallons of hot water

Mix well and start dyeing your dress.

Keep the fabric moving constantly to avoid uneven dyeing. It only took a couple of minutes to get the color I wanted. Remember that the color you end up with will be 2-3 shades lighter than what comes out of the dye bath.

Rinse well in the sink. Machine wash and dry.

As I mentioned, I made the mistake of cutting length off the bottom too soon and had to add a trim.

It ended up adding interest to the dress and I'm happy with how it turned out.

If you want to add a trim too:

Cut 8" strips of your trim fabric

Sew together strips until you have a 65" long by 8" wide panel of fabric

Lovely! I was just lamenting the fact that I haven't ever found a maxi dress with short sleeves (that I could afford, at least) . . . I just can't do sleeveless. This is so cute, and looks so simple and quick to make! I love it! (And great job on the color, it's beautiful!)

What a great dress! I found your blog on Ucreate and have been so inspired by your creations. You make me a little less intimidated to try my hand at sewing clothing -- I normally just do simple projects for around the house. I fully intend to find some knit this weekend and give this a try!

I saw this on Grosgrain this morning, and just happened to have the perfect fabric. So I whipped one up and I love it! I am going to take some pictures asap so I can show it off! Thanks so much for the easy tutorial :)Amyhttp://caseoftheyellows.blogspot.com

Someone I follow on Pinterest pinned this tutorial, and I cannot WAIT to try it! I've been in love with Maxi dresses lately, and I may make myself a whole week's worth of these beauties :-) Thanks for sharing!!!!

I LOVE THIS. seriously one of the best DIY's i've seen in a while. i'm all about the bohemian look so this is right up my alley :) if you ever want any more boho inspired projects i have a ton of them on my blog too! well anyway you have gained a new follower hehe

just found this on Ucreate and I just wanted to tell you how much i LOVE this dress! I especially love your strip on the bottom! You are so cute! I can't wait to see what other projects you come up with! ;)

WOW! I followed the link over from U-Create, and I'm SO GLAD I did! I love a good Maxi-dress - always have, even before they were "in" (although, I don't know how a nice floor length day dress could really ever be "out")! This one has got to be the most simple yet perfectly awesome one I've seen yet! I can't wait to make one!

Also, thanks for the RIT blend chart thingy, I've never seen that either, and it's so great!

KATY!!! You are so famous! I'm behind on my blog reader and I kept seeing all these references to this super cute maxi dress over at Sweet Verbena! Now that I get here to see it, all I can say is Great Job.

@Ruth- By cutting just one straight line down the middle where your head will go through it will make a v-neck as the heavier material on the sides pulls the line you cut to each side. And yes, it shows on both sides!

This might be a silly question, but did you sew a hem into the v-neck and the sleeves? Or did you leave them raw? I've never sewn with knit (ok... I've never sewn period), but I think this might be just the project to get me started! Love it!!

LoVe It!!! My friend & I stumbled upon your blog LATE last night...transformed some scrap fabric into this dress for her & I couldn't resist...I had to go to the fabric store today & get some of my own.

My best friend had us pick out our own bridesmaid dresses. I made this one...for $5 worth of fabric and a $7.50 clearance belt. She loved it. Thanks for the tutorial...who would have thought you could have a $12.50 cent bridesmaid dress that you will wear again?

Awesome! Boho chic sounds classy but seriously, I'm going to call this the pajama dress because it's so comfy! I made one tonight in under half an hour and I love it! I'll definitely be making more. Be warned though...I used cheapo jersey from Hobby Lobby and while I started with 2 yards x 60 inches, it shrunk a TON. I washed before sewing and wound up with something like 57" x 61". Add the fact that it was folded kind of wonky on the bolt so neither end was actually straight and the useable area was even smaller when I folded it to sew (I washed before sewing). It wound up coming to my ankles (I'm 5'11") so I'll probably leave this one as-is but for the next one I'll either start with 2.5 yards or just plan to put a band on the bottom. Also, I'm on the big side of size 14 with broad shoulders and my sleeves are way shorter than yours...fine but not nearly as cute. I may try doing one with two pieces of fabric maybe 40" wide instead of one folded to 30" just so that I have that width for the sleeves. I'm sure I can find something to do with the leftover jersey!

Hi Katy! I love this dress so much! I realize Fall is about to hit but I still want to make it ASAP! I'm trying to start up my own blog and am also a college Junior. PS. Also love the game day dress, that is perfect for big University football games.

I just made this! It took me an hour and a half, and that included me figuring out how to wind a new bobbin and all (only the second time I have used my machine). I found a knit print, and instead of a belt I am going to make a sash in a coordinating color :)

wow! totally love this! btw: I am a new follower, really love your blog! Would love it if we could follow each other! I love meeting new fashionistas around the blogosphere! I am a fashion design major, you can check out some of my creations on my fb page!

Question for you: When you rinse, does it matter if you use cold or hot water? Also do you wash in cold or hot water? Will be doing this project for sure soon! so cute!

I saw this dress on Pinterest and fell in love with it. I sew stuffed animals and not so hard things, but this dress looked easy and inspiring. I went and purchased knit and fabric to make a contrasting belt, as I can never find just the right belt to fit. The fabric is currently in the dryer from dyeing and my belt is made. I'm super excited to finish this project. You now have me inspired to sew more clothes for myself, as I can never find anything in the stores to fit my shape and size. Perfect, Thank You so VERY much!!!

I tried to make this today and I don't know what I did wrong, but after I put on the belt it was all poofy and funky around he hips and waist, like there was too much fabric or It needed to be taken in around the middle. Anyone else have this problem?

Hi there! I'm a new follower and was just wondering; if I wanted to buy my fabric online, what specific fabric works best for this tutorial? I'm completely new to sewing but thought this could be a good introductory project! Love your blog!

I love how it looks on you but I just made one and it's super huge on me:/ I'm usually a medium and it just looks big and akwar even after washing it. Any tips? Your crafts are ADORABLE tho and I knew I like loved your blog when I saw the hunger games tshirt:)Thanks!

This tutorial rocks! It really is simple and can be adjusted so easily. I'm thinking of making a mini one from te scraps for my daughter. I'm only 5', so I'll have lots of leftover. Stylish yet modest.

I attempted to create this nowadays and I don't know what I do wrong, but shortly after I positioned near to the belt it absolutely was all poofy and funky near to he hips and waist, like there is as well appreciably material or It required to acquire used in near to the middle. anybody else have this problem?Cheap WOW Gold

I LOVE this dress and am making it today! I hope it looks as cute as yours! I know you made it forever ago, but I would love for you to share it at my link partyhttp://thewinthropchronicles.blogspot.com/2012/03/share-it-link-party-3.html

When I first pinned this and looked at your blog, I found a link to a fabric shop in Dallas, I can't find it now!?!? I think it was somewhere close to Hobby? Help!! I live in FW, so I don't get over there very often, but wanted to look up the place again. Thanks for your help!!

I am so excited! After finding this post last week I thought I'd be able to do this. I found knit on clearance and made my first dress ever this morning! It's perfect! I wore my new dress to town and bought more material on clearance. Plan on making 3 more dresses and 2 nightshirts. Thanks so much for posting this!

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This is so cute! I plan on making one for me & my daughter.....I just have one question....when cutting the sleeves, you cut where you had already sewn....does this cause the stitches to come out eventually? If so do you have any recommendations on how to prevent this from happening?

I made your dress today, but it is not nearly as cute on my short body. I had to play around with some looks to see what worked for me. Since you are interested in fashion design, I would love to hear your opinion on which look works best. See my pictures at http://lizspinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/04/pin-58.html

I love your easy to understand tutorial! Thank you! And I love that you dyed the fabric. It's so unique!I did a little maxi dress series and would love if you linked up your dress!http://www.feathersflights.com/2012/04/maxi-dress-week-day-5-results-and-link.html

I love this!!!! I have Lupus, and have to be covered. Since this will be my first summer after learning I have Lupus I am in the perfect maxi dress hunt!! And I've found it here. Great length and has some sleeve. yea!! But I was wondering did you hem the neck and sleeve line? I have zoomed on and can't tell. It may not matter and I could do either, but I would like to know what you done here. Thank you for a great maxi pattern

I made this dress today in under 1 hour! I had a printed knit laying around that I wasn't sure what to do with...Your tutorial was so easy and with it being a rainy day, it was the perfect opportunity to give this a try! I think my fabric may have been a tad bit to heavy or it's just me being so tiny because it's not as flowy but I still like it. Thanks for the tutorial!!!

I've been dying over this dress every since I saw this post. I finally got around to making it. So easy and fun for summer. I'm already planning to make a short one to wear with leggings. Thanks for the great/easy tutorial.

I just made TWO of these dresses using a solid green jersey from Joanns, and a sheer blue/black flowered jersey over a black solid jersey knit, also from joanns! I put them on with a basic black belt that I just had in the drawer from an old outfit and they turned out TOO cute! I just love them! I think I'm going to shorten the patterned dress to make it a knee length drees because the fabrics are pretty heavy and for summer time I think it'll be better to have a shorter dress. But I'm going to keep it maxi for a little while until the weather gets nicer here.

They were SOO easy to make and only took me a few minutes to sew and cut it! The longest part of the process was picking out the fabric and pre-washing/drying it! :-)

I have two yards of 60" wide eggplant cotton / lycra. I must have bought it 3 years ago and have no clue what I planned to use it for (traded brain cells for kids...)! Now I think that I will make this dress!! It's so pretty and I love the V neck. I'll probably put a zig-zag stitch over the raw edges to create a rolled hem look, possibly in a contrasting color.

Great dress. This is a lovely updated remake of the dresses we made in the 60's and 70's. Love the idea of using lightweight knits. There are many more fabric choices than we had. The serger speeds up the process so neckline and hems are super fast.

I'd forgotten about this super easy way of making a dress. I'm dying to try it with today's fabrics and my serger.

Here's a tip to make things like "oops it shrunk so it's too short" happen less often, wash the fabric before cutting. But then again it gave you a great hem detail.

A ruffled addition at the bottom would be so cute too instead of the straight extension which is lovely and a great design by oops. So many great ideas come from the "I goofed gotta fix it" process.

Dying to get just the right color is a great idea. I'm glad to see young people taking up the sewing crafts.

ohh i love this!! i just pinned it!! :)i am a little confused on one part though..when you cut off the arm holes, are you trimming off the part you sowed at the beginning? does it not come apart after cut the stitching?

Oh my gosh! I love this, I've been looking for a simple maxi dress tutorial for ages and this has been a God send! I'm planning to make this in chiffon and customise it with some studs on the shoulders. The rest of your tutorials are amazing, especially the tribal t-shirt, cushion and pencil case ones. Will definitely be attempting them all! Thank you so much for this, keep up the good work! :DMona xxx

I love this! I made one of my own and was just wondering how you finished the edges, like on the armholes and neckline? The hem was simple, but I had a harder time with the other two parts after I followed the instructions..let me know how you did yours! Thanks so much, LOVE your blog! Amelia

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This is so incredibly cute but I am not in need of a maxi dress so I made a few alterations. First of all, instead of dying, I'd just buy through jersey knit in the colour of my choice. Secondly, I'd make the dress a smidge shorter (probably knee length or so) and instead of hemming (or in your case, adding a trim) I'd use a binding in a nice contrasting colour. I'm also not a big fan of the extra long sleeve so I'd gather it with elastic thread or something of the sorts. These were just a few changes that I thought would personalized the dress for me. Anyways, loved the tutorial. Gave me a bunch of new ideas! xoxo

So i made this last night and loved it! I used a thicker knit fabric and it still turned out wonderful and a dress for winter/fall. and now I have tons of people wanting me to make them one! thank you so much for this tutorial

This is so cute! Just found your blog through Pinterest and I'm having fun going through and reading all of your tutorials and making lists of what I need to get! What did you use for the trim on this dress? From the pic, it doesn't look like knit...

You have a great, great, great, great blog!I am loving this collection.these are beautiful! and i really like Pink Stitch clothing.I really like your blog. Click here for more information: Pink Stitch Maxi Dress

I love this tutorial, but I see from the comments a few people have the same question I do, but no one has answered it. How did you finish the neckline and arms? Did you just leave them raw? Wouldn't that make them curl after washing?

I found some cheap knit in a bright blue color that I loved. I whipped up the dress using your tutorial, and it couldn't have been easier. I actually didn't love the dress on me, but I made my sister try it on. I made gave it to her since it looked so good. I left all my edges raw. The neckline & sleeves didn't roll, but the bottom did, but I liked it and left it.

Love this tutorial! I have my fabric laying out on the floor now ready to be pinned. Just a few questions though before I start!1. Do you make 3 separate seams or do you just sew around the 3 sides, making a U shape?

2. When you cut the neckline and arm holes, are you also cutting through the seams? Does this make it unravel later?

Wohha!! Really Great Stuff! Actually your creative writing skills has inspired me to get my own site going now. Really blogging is spreading its wings and growing quickly.! :) I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed!

I love this dress, and will probably make it soon, but I was wondering if it was see through when you finished? I know the white was pretty see through before you died the fabric, but what about after that. Again, love the dress.

Initially, I loved the idea of this dress! However, the finished product was waaaaaaay too big. Even with a wide belt, I still felt like I was swimming in fabric. I'm about to alter the dress just to make it presentable. It makes a great nightgown though! LOL.

I'm also wondering about finishing the neck and armholes. Also wondering if anyone has used a cotton print instead of a knit to make this cute dress. Thanks for the tutorial. Also, thanks to anyone who will give suggestions about finishing those edges.

I love this and am eyeing some pre-dyed green stretch knit jersey.. but I can only find in 58". Do you think this is a huge problem? Can I sort of readjust the measurements somehow? It's only 2" off? Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks and I love your blog!

I love this tutorial! I can't wait to try it out and love that you can just throw the dress on and add a cute belt! Can't wait to be finished! Will post pictures on my facebook page when finished! www.facebook.com/spindle.spoolSpindle & Spool xoxox

Oh my goodness, this is the easiest dress to make! I can not tell you how much I hate to sew! I have tried and tried and tried to sew something decent, and it has never worked out! My grandma, mom, and sister sew, and I have always wondered how the heck they have the patience to sew. I literally found this on pinterest 2 hours ago, contemplated tackling this (remember I hate to sew!) and here I am with a brand new dress that I actually love and want to wear! It only took me 1 hour to make, and it was so easy! Sure my sewing lines aren't straight, nor are the sleeve cuts, but it is so hard to tell in this dress. I made a few adjustments to make the dress match my body type. I shortened it by 14 in. so it is no longer a maxi dress (I am 5'1") and then I made it to where the sleeves are shorter, like a tank top. I topped it with a cute brown belt and a white cardigan. Let me tell you, it is absolutely adorable! Please listen up! If you hate to sew, you must try this dress! There is no possible way for you to mess this up! Don't give up! There is hope for you! Thank you so much for posting this design on your wall! Well done! :)

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Thank you! Seriously though, it's been 20 years since I last sat behind a sewing machine and didn't throw my hands up, exasperated, and walk away. In fact, for the past 17 years my husband has done ANY and ALL sewing that's needed to happen here. I never really "got" it in high school... this dress was quite easy to make - even for someone as rusty and unskilled as me ;)

I look forward to learning more about sewing, in part to this simple, fun, and beautiful project!

I know this is an older post, but just wanted to say thank you for sharing! I just made my maxi dress from this tutorial, and I love it! First dress I've ever made, and first time working with knits. Thank you! I put up a picture of it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFSVSYlRSIg/

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